In a conventional filling apparatus for manufacturing packaging containers filled with a liquid food such as milk or beverage, a web-shaped packaging material is continuously formed into a tubular shape by means of forming rollers, while being transported, and a liquid food is charged into the tubular packaging material to thereby form packaging containers.
Since a liquid food is charged into the tubular packaging material, from the viewpoint of sanitation, the web-shaped packaging material is sterilized before being formed into a tubular shape. For such a purpose, a sterilizing tank filled with a liquid bactericidal agent is disposed on the upstream side of the forming rollers with respect to the transport direction of the packaging material. The packaging material is passed through the sterilizing tank for immersion in the bactericidal agent.
When the packaging material passes through the sterilizing tank, the bactericidal agent adheres to the packaging material. Therefore, a liquid-removing apparatus is disposed on the downstream side of the sterilizing tank with respect to the transport direction of the packaging material. The liquid-removing apparatus includes a pair of squeeze rollers and an air knife. The rollers nip the packaging material, while applying a predetermined pressing force thereto, in order to squeeze the bactericidal agent from the packaging material. The air knife blows the bactericidal agent off the packaging material by means of hot air jetted therefrom.
However, the above-described conventional liquid-removing apparatus has the following drawback. When packaging materials which have mouthpieces on their top walls in order to enable drinking of liquid food are to be manufactured, the mouthpieces are bonded to the packaging material in advance. In such a case, since mouthpieces project from the surface of the packaging material, the mouthpieces interfere with the squeeze rollers. As a result, the squeeze rollers fail to nip the packaging material.
A conceivable measure for preventing interference between the mouthpieces and the squeeze rollers is forming a groove in the one of the squeeze rollers that faces the mouthpieces.
FIG. 1 is a view showing operation of a conventional liquid-removing apparatus.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a packaging material transported in the direction indicated by arrow A; 22 denotes a mouthpiece; 23 denotes a first squeeze roller functioning as a backup roller; 24 denotes a second squeeze roller functioning as a pressure roller and disposed to face the first squeeze roller 23; and 25 denotes a groove formed on the second squeeze roller 24 to extend in the circumferential direction thereof. The depth of the groove 25 is set to be slightly greater than the height of the mouthpiece 22. The groove 25 is formed at a predetermined position along the axial direction of the second squeeze roller 24 such that the groove 25 faces the mouthpieces 22 on the packaging material 11.
When the packaging material 11 is transported and a certain portion of the packaging material 11 reaches the point between the first and second squeeze rollers 23 and 24, the certain portion of the packaging material 11 is nipped by the first and second squeeze rollers 23 and 24 with a predetermined pressing force. As a result, a bactericidal agent adhering to the packaging material 11 is removed. When one of the mouthpieces 22 passes through the space between the first and second squeeze rollers 23 and 24, the mouthpiece 22 is received by the groove 25, so that interference between the mouthpiece 22 and the second squeeze roller 24 can be prevented.
However, when the first and second squeeze rollers 23 and 24 squeeze the bactericidal agent from the packaging material 11, no pressing force is applied to the packaging material 11 in an area corresponding to the groove 25 formed in the second squeeze roller 24. Therefore, the bactericidal agent cannot be removed from the portion of the packaging material 11 corresponding to the groove 25.
An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid-removing apparatus capable of solving the problems involved in the conventional liquid-removing apparatus and capable of sufficiently removing liquid adhering to packaging material.